Georgia Representative John Linsford’s bill, HB 152 (relating to HOPE scholarships, grants and homeschoolers), passed through the Georgia House March 27th and is now in the Georgia Senate. Full text here. Here are the changes proposed in the bill for qualification of the Hope Scholarship:

(C) In the case of an otherwise qualified student who:
(i) Did not graduate from high school or complete a home study program meeting the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-690 but received the general educational development (GED) diploma awarded by the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education after June 30, 1993;
(ii) Completed a home study program meeting the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-2-690 in lieu of graduating from an eligible high school; or
(iii) Graduated from a high school which is not an eligible high school, earning a score in the eighty-fifth percentile or higher nationally on a standardized college admission test, such as the SAT or ACT;

Atlanta’s WSBTV’s website, covered the bill in The Faces Of Homeschooling. Representative Lunsford, Donna Brisse-homeschooler, Dr. Cheryl Fields Smith-asst. professor at UGA in Early Childhood Education, Cara Ellison-former homeschooler and Marietta store owner and Reggie Weaver-National Education Association President were highlighted on WSBTV’s site with their comments.

If the General Assembly decrees that home schoolers can submit an SAT score to qualify for HOPE, that option should expand to all students. That would mean a high school student with a C+ average and a 1,450 SAT would also become HOPE-eligible. Fairness has to work both ways.

Mary Hood, a long time homeschool advocate and author of The Relaxed Homeschool, wrote an article last year on her thoughts about Georgia homeschooling trends. This article was written before this bill was presented to allow homeschooled college freshmen to be eligible for the Hope Scholarship if they pass in “the eighty-fifth percentile or higher nationally on a standardized college admission test, such as the SAT or ACT”.